Pneumatic coupling.



A.1.TYLER; PNEUMATIC comme. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 27, 1912. I

Patented Deo. 28,- 1915.

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AARON J. TYLER, or ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

PNEUMATIC COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patentgd Die@ 28, 1915.

Application filed September 27, 1 912. Serial No. 722,757.

ToaZZ/whom it mag/concern.'

Be it known that I, AARON J. TYLER, citi- 'zen of the United States,residing at Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ,PneumaticCouplings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to pneumatic couplings and more particularly tothat class of couplings especially designedfor connecting pneumaticpumps to theinflation valves of automobile tires and the like.

The primary object of the invention is `to Provide a pneumatic couplingof simple and durable construction which shall automatically unseat thetire valve of an automobile-when connected therewith-and hold said valvein open position until the inner tube of the tire is properly inflated,and

permit said valve to automatically closeV when the coupling isdisconnected therefrom. v

A further object of the invention is to provide a coupling, theconstruction of .which is such that when the coupling is connected witha tire valve to open the same, the air in the inner tube of the tire mayflow through the coupling to the pres,- sure gage of the pump and thuspermitthe operator, by inspecting the gage,to determine the pressureofthe air in the inner tube either before or after inflation.

A further'o-bject is to provide avcoupling including a tubular bodyportion having a sectional head swiveled thereon, there being Ya packinginterposed between the tubular body portionY and head and securely heldagainst accidental displacement by engagement with said body portion andone of the sections of the head. Y

A further object is to provide a coupling which shall be thoroughlyreliable under all conditions and in -which ample clearance is affordedfor the passage vof air therethrough, thus reducing friction to aminimum and conseouently increasing the efficiency of the device. f Astill further object of the invention is generally to improve this classof devices so as to increase their utility, durability and eliiciency,as Well as to reduce the cost of manufacture. l n

Further objects and advantages will appear in the followingdescription,it being understood that various changes inform,

. proportions and minor details ofY construc- .a bottom plan view of thespider of the valve unseating member; Fig. 2 is a side eleva,-

tion ofthe curved pipe section or elbow with the clamping ring andcoupling head 'removed; Fig. 3 rrepresents a vertical sectional' view,bottom plan view, side elevation and top plan view ofthe outer sectionof the couplinghead; Fig. 4 represents a vertical sectional view, topAplan view, side .elevation Vand bottomfplanview of the inner sectionofthe coupling head; F ig.l 5

represents a vertical sectional view, bottom plan view, side elevationland 'top plan view of the tubular body portion with the valve unseatingmember removed; Fig. 6

represents a side elevation and bottom plan view of the yvalve unseatingmemberdetached, asecond side elevation taken from a different angle yanda cross sectional view of 'the valvefunseating member being also shown;`Fig. .7 represents a sectional view and al side elevation partly 'in'section of a coupling having a straight shank or pipe forconnectionuwith an air conductor; Fig.

.8 is a `vertical sectional view of the curved .section or elbow shownin Fig. 2; Fig. 9

represents a vertical sectional view, bottom plan view, side elevationand top plan View ofthe hose attaching .member shown in Fig. 7; Fig, l0represents a vertical sectional view, bottom plan view, side elevationand top plan view of the clamping collar shown in Figs. l and k7.'

Corresponding and like parts are referred v y' to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the lviews of the accompanying drawingsby the same reference characters.

The improved coupling forming the sub- Yject matter `of the presentinvention comprises. a tubular body portion 5 having one .end thereofprovided with a 'laterally' eX- te ndingflange 6 and kits other endhollow-ed out toi-formv a seat; or chamber 7 which-communicates withythe longitudinal bore `8k of the tubular body portion, as shown. Securedin any suitable manner to the small end of the body portion, is anelbow` section 9 having a circumferential shoulder 10 defining alongitudinally disposed nipple 11, the walls of which are roughened orcorrugated at 12 for engagement with an air conductor of any suitableconstruction, such for instance as a flexible hose, not shown.Surrounding the elbow 9 and bearing against the shoulder 10, is aclamping collar or sleeve 13, which is fitted over the adjacent end ofthe hose and the latter, together with the collar, forced over thecorrugated end of the nipple 11, thereby firmly clamping the hose on thenipple and at the same time affording a protection for the end of saidhose.

Mounted for rotation on the tubular body portion 5, is a couplingheadcomprising inner and outer sections 14 and 15, one of which receives thefiange 6 on the body portion, while the other is provided with a centralopening 16, the walls of which are threaded at 17 for detachableconnection with the 4correspondingly threaded end of Van ordinary tirevalve. K The upper face of the flange 6 is preferably spaced inwardlyfrom the adjacent end of the inner head section 14 to form a pocket orchamber 18 for the reception of a flexible packing 19, preferably formedof leather, rubber or other yieldable material and against which theadjacent end of the tire valve abuts when the coupling is connectedtherewith, so as. eifectuallytoprevent the escape of air during theinfiation of the inner tube of the tire.

`The innerlhead section 14 is exteriorly vthreaded at 20 for engagementwith corresponding interior threads formed on the outer section 15, sothatv said sections: may be readily removed when it is desired todisconnect the parts to permit renewal or replacement of the` packing.It will here be noted hat when the outer section 15 is screwed home `onthe ylower section 14, the vpacking l19 will be, elfectually heldagainst accidental displacement. It will also `be noted that the innerwall of the pockety 18 is lsmooth and vdevoidy of threads sol as toprevent accidental `dislodgment of said packing, when securing thesections together or unscrewing said sections for any reason.I4 H

,The upper end of the lower section 14 is 'provided with a `smooth flatbearing surface 21 whichbears against a correspondingly smooth-flatbearing surface 22 formed on the ,lower face of the Vouter head section15 when the sections are screwed together.

-Thus it will be seenthat when the sections 14 and 15 are screwedtogether, the inner section, by engagement with the outer section,'willform in effect a lock so as to prevent independent rotation of saidsections and consequently cause the sections of the coupling head torotate together on the tubular body portion and form in effect a swivelconnection between said coupling head and body portion. The flat' face22 ofthe outer section 15, by engagement with the adjacent surface ofthe packing, also serves to prevent accidental displacement of saidpacking, as before stated.

Arranged within the tubular member 5, is a valve unseating membercomprising a stem 23 which extends longitudinally of and is spacedslightly from the walls of the bore 8 so as to permit the free passageof air through said body portion to the inner tube ofthe tire. One endof the stem 23 normally projects a. short distance beyond 'the outerface of the packing 19 for engagement with the valve stem of the tirevalve, while the other end of the spindle is provided with a spider 24,the arms of which bear against and are secured in an",7 suitable mannerto the walls of the kseat or chamber 7.

The coupling is designed for attachment to a pneumatic pump having a.pressure gage connected thereto and the object of the spider 24 istopermit the air in the in` ner tube of an automobile tire to passbetween the arms of the spider to the pressure gage so that the operatorby glancing at the pressure vgage may determine the degree of airpressure in the inner tube, either before or after iniiation thereof.rlhe space L.;

between the arms of the spider and around the stem 23 also affords ampleclearance for the fiow of air to the inner tube when inflating the tire,thus reducing friction between the parts to a minimum andconsequentlymaterially increasing the efficiency of the device.

The wall of the chamber 7 is preferably inclined or beveled at 25 toassist in directing the air from the pump into the bore of the tubularbody portion, while the elbow 9 is formed with an annular shoulder 26against which the adjacent end of said body portion abuts when the partsare assembled.

Thus it will be seen that by positioning the coupling head on thethreaded end of a tire valve and rotating said coupling head, the end ofthe stem 23 will bear against and move the tire valve to open positionso as to permit air from the pump or compressor to be forced through thecoupling head into the inner tube of the tire. As the coupling head isscrewed onto the tire valve, the end of the tire valve will bear againstthe packing 19, thereby to effectually prevent the escape of air fromthe inner tube during the pumping operation. Vhen the coupling head isfirst attached to the tire valve and said tire valve opened byengagement with the stem of the'valve unseating mernflation of the innertubehas been effected,

the coupling head is rotated in the reverse direction, that is to say,unscrewed from the tire valve which operation releases the stem 23 andpermits the tire valve to automatically close and retain the air withinthe `inner tube of the tire in the ordinary manner. Y The walls of theopening 16 are preferably inclined or beveled at 27 to assist in guidingthe coupling head to the nipple of the tire valve. The exterior surfaceof the outer head section 15 is also preferably roughened' or knurledas'indicated at 28 to assist in obtaining agood grip on the head, whilethe exterior surface of the inner head section 14.- is preferablyprovided with oppositely disposed flattened portions 29 for engagementwith a wrench or other suitable tool so as to hold the outer sectionswhile the sections 14: and 15 are being locked or unlocked.

vIn Figs. 7 and 9 of the drawings, there is illustrated a modified formof the invention in which the curved elbow 9 is eliminated and thecoupling head attached directly to a straight nipple 30, theconstruction and operation of the device shown in Fig. 7 being otherwisesimilar to the coupling shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

From the foregoing description, it will be .seen that there is provideda pneumatic coupling of simple and durable construction which isthoroughly reliable under all con- ,Y

ditions and which not only serves to permit the passage of air from acompressor to the inner tube of the tire when iniating the same, withoutundue friction between the parts, but also permits the operator todetermine the pressure of the air in the inner tube prior to inflatingthe same or after the inflation thereof hasbeen effected.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A coupling for connecting a pump to a tire valve including a tubularbody having one end thereof provided with a flangeA and its other endformed with an interior chamber communicating with the bore of the body,the wall of said chamber vbeing inclined in the direction of said bore,a coupling head swiveled on the body around the liange thereon andprovided with an opening, the walls of which are provided with means forengagement with a tire valve, a packing interposed between the body andthe head and having an opening therein, and a valve unseating memberincluding a stem having one end thereof projecting through the openingin the packing and its other end formed with a spider secured inV thechamber at the end of the body. y

2. A coupling for connecting a pump to a tire valve comprising aVtubular body having an external annular flange at one end and provided`at its opposite end with an internal chamber communicating with itsbore, a pipe secured upon and extending from the chamber at the end ofthe body, a valve-unseating member consisting of a slender stemextending through the bore of the body and a spider formed on one end ofthe stem and secured in the chamber at the end of the body, an innerhead section fitted loosely around the body andthe flange thereon andhaving a smooth bored portion extending beyond the end of the body, saidsmooth bored portion terminating in a plane radial face, an outer headsectionV detachably securedupon the inner head section and provided withan internal annular radial shoulder adapted to bear against the annularplane radial face of the inner section and extend inwardly beyond saidface,

said outer section being provided with an` one end and an enlargedchamber at thel opposite end, a packingplaced against the flanged end ofthe body, a sectional head, the inner section .slipped upon the bodyagainst the lower face of the external flange and vformed with anexternally threaded portion encircling the said flange and packing, andthe outer section placed against the said packing and the threadedportion of the inner section. and formed with an internally threadedportion engaging the externally threaded portion of the inner section,and a valve unseating member comprising a stem and spider, the stempassing through the body of the coupling and the packing and the spiderbeing secured in Ithe enlarged chambered end of the tubular ody.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature Copies of this patent may beobtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,Washington, D. C.

